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Why Business is like... birds and worms

'The early bird catches the worm': a proverb extolling the virtues of getting up and out there promptly in order to claim the prize. It's easy to see how it relates to business, where companies have to exploit any advantage in order to snap up customers.

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Published: 01 Nov 2007

Last Updated: 31 Aug 2010

But there's a problem with the saying: it doesn't mention the fortunes
of the later bird. In reality, rival birds can turn up pretty much
whenever they want and still get a decent feed - as long as they hit the
right spot and employ the right techniques. After all, there are plenty
of worms to go round.

As in nature, so in business - being first certainly doesn't guarantee
success. For every triumphant early arrival such as Amazon, eBay and
Coca-Cola, there's a Yahoo - or an IBM, a company that got its feathers
plucked despite taking off ahead of its rivals. Pampers, Google and the
iPod, meanwhile, were slower off the perch, but landed on a tastier
breed of worm or hit upon a smarter way to grab them.

In fact, there are more than 20,000 different varieties of worm, from
hookworms and earthworms to other larvae not technically worms but
casually considered such - for example, glowworms and woodworms. With an
understanding of these creatures and their habits, any bird will stand a
good chance of filling its stomach. Hence the habit of 'worm charming':
stamping on the ground, perhaps to simulate rain, to encourage the prey
up from the soil. It's the kind of practice that should be familiar to
marketers everywhere.

But business should be wary of too many worm analogies. Fall into the
trap of seeing your customers as blind beasts with a few bundles of
nerves instead of a brain and you may well find your lunch being eaten
up by your rivals, no matter how early you are.